Sky Ler Htoo completes journey from refugee to graduate

May 17—Unstoppable. Dynamic. Driven. Determined. A force to be reckoned with.

These are just a few of the descriptors Logansport High School staff and faculty use for senior Sky Ler Htoo.

The amazing thing is that maybe Htoo doesn't yet realize these things about herself.

She's quick to dismiss her success, often saying things like she could have tried harder.

Yet, Htoo is a top 10 student who is heading Bradley University in the fall where she will start studying to become a lawyer.

There are many who give up at the first, slightest obstacle. Htoo has overcome everything she's been confronted with since she a child.

Coming to America

Sky Ler Htoo was born in a refugee camp in Thailand.

Her parents met there after fleeing the civil war in Myanmar. Her mother, Ma Myint, remembered the camp as a place of peace where they were provided with food and jobs.

Htoo was born in 2004. She was nearly four years old when the family arrived in the United States in 2008.

Their first stop was Georgia. As a preschooler, Htoo was already fluent enough in English to translate for her parents.

Four years later, now a family of four, they moved to Kentucky. And then another four years passed and they were in Ft. Wayne. Two years later, her father, Tam Htoo, had a job at Tyson and the family landed in Logansport.

Htoo was breezing through her elementary and middle school classes, hardly breaking a sweat as she built a reputation as an honors student. Making new friends wasn't a challenge either. It was easy at that age.

"I think the transition that was really hard for me was coming from Ft. Wayne to Logansport," she recalled. "I came to Logansport the very beginning of the second semester of my sixth grade year. The kids here weren't like the kids (in Ft. Wayne).

"I sometimes joke to my friends that I had never seen so many white people before I came to Logansport. Now I do see the diversity but when I first came here the diversity was not like the other places I've lived in."

Still, she said that Logansport had been very good to her family. They were able to branch out thanks to her efforts to help them. For years, Htoo has paid the family's bills, has helped with documentation and legal matters and in middle school helped them reapply for green cards.

An inspiration

The class of 2023 were freshmen when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Their first year of high school came to a sudden end. Their second year of high school was full of starts and stops, social distancing, Zoom classes and quarantines. Their junior year of high school was a bit more stable, but there was still uncertainty and fear.

This year's seniors will graduate having only one normal year of high school. On top of everything happening in the world, Htoo entered high school finding that things suddenly weren't as easy for her as they had been. She felt lost in science. She didn't know how to manage her time between coursework and extracurricular activities. Her grades began to drop and she pulled herself out of honors math classes.

That's where Logansport High School counselor Karin Combs comes in.

"As school counselors we try to build relationships with students," Combs said. "We try to understand them more to know their goals and be a trusted adult at school who supports and encourages them and pushes them in the right direction."

Combs says she did little more than believe in Htoo. Htoo says otherwise

"I didn't have anyone to help me research (college) or provide for me what paths I should take or what classes I should look to take if I wanted to get into certain types of schools," said Htoo. "She really helped explain a lot of the process to me."

While sitting through Zoom classes at home, Htoo was able to communicate with Combs via phone calls and emails.

"I think my parents have always felt sorry that they couldn't be there for me for a lot of things and I've had to overcome a lot of obstacles in my life on my own," she said. "But (Combs) being there has made them less worried."

Htoo said without Combs guidance she doubted she would be a top 10 student.

"I don't think it was anything exceptional that I did," she said. "I just believed in how capable and talented she was."

When Logansport High School celebrated their Pillars of the Community event on May 7, a ceremony where the top 10 students honor those who inspired them, Htoo asked Combs to join her.

Htoo cried during her speech about Combs' influence.

"She's really been my rock these last 4 years," she said. "I have a deep connection with her. I have a lot of good connections with my teachers, especially my speech coach (Jessica Kranz) and English teachers at the school. With her it's just a little different."

Finding her way

Combs said she saw Htoo start to find her way during her junior year. Htoo saw that being a top 10 student was in reach. Being a part of the speech team also helped her gain much needed confidence.

"I think she realized she had the power to make her own choices and have her own opinions," said Combs.

Htoo had always wanted to be a doctor but the trajectory of her career path changed as well. Her friends said she was great at arguing. So she decided to become a lawyer.

"I think (being a doctor) was a dream immigrant thing," she said. "I mean you get all the respect. You get all the money you never had, the life that your parents can never have. It was just a really respected career field. I took a lot of health science classes. I do have my CNA license."

But Htoo was finding she lacked the passion needed to be a doctor. Through lived experience, she knew she had a passion for wanting to help other immigrants like she was helping her parents.

Htoo has been interning at the Law Office of Andrew Achey during her senior year of high school.

She also took on extracurricular activities such as managing the gymnastics and girls' soccer teams, continued on with SAFE (Student Association For the Environment) Club, Diversity Club and Spanish Club, joined student council and acted as the class secretary.

She helped the Berry speech team finish 10th in the state.

"Sky is such an amazing, well rounded and bright individual," said Luna Tafolla, Htoo's friend and fellow senior. "I have known her for six years now and I have seen her personal growth in and out of the classroom. Her passion and fire is evident as she fearlessly stands up for what she believes in as well as for others. "

Halle VanCuran became friends with Htoo when they ran cross country together in junior high.

"I have admired her resilience and strength," VanCuran said. "She has overcome unimaginable barriers, and she is the fiercest friend I have. Not only does she manage her family's affairs, but she is an outstanding student who is smart and talented. She is truly an amazing person who has strength beyond her years."

"From gaining citizenship to her leadership and success on the speech and academic teams and being a distinguished graduate, she has excelled in all aspects of high school and life," said Logansport High School principal Matt Jones. "We are confident that her bright future at Bradley University will continue to unfold a path of excellence and achievement."

The future

When Htoo graduates on June 4 she will do so as a United States citizen. She's heading to Bradley University in Illinois in the fall to study political science and sociology while minoring in criminology and legal studies.

"I like to joke that I was already done with high school the moment I came into high school," she said. "I've had senioritis for the past four years. (Graduation will) be a new chapter in my life. I think it's scary but it's also really exciting."

She said she was looking forward to getting out and experiencing life on her own. She worries about her parents, however. She's proud of the help she's given them over the years.

"I knew my parents had no one to rely on," she said. "I'm not really someone who preaches 'family first' but my parents were the first to support me and provide for me so it has always been my responsibility to provide back for them."

Combs said she thought Htoo can be an influence for other students, that Htoo has shown that educational, cultural and demographic barriers don't have to be obstacles but instead can be sources of pride and strength.

"There's a quote I read somewhere that said 'go ahead and underestimate me. That will be fun'," said Combs. "I think that kind of exemplifies Sky. She represents the importance of learning your own worth and valuing your own worth. By her own fortitude she got here."